Mental Illness and Violence: A Link?

Feb. 2, 2009 -- When horrific acts of violence erupt, such as killing
rampages on school campuses or mass slayings by heads of families, the public
often reacts by saying the offender must have been "crazy."

Although mental illness and violence are often thought by society to go
together, the perception is not entirely true, according to a new study.

"Mental illness alone does not increase the risk of violence," says
Eric Elbogen, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, citing the results of his recent
study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

But when mental illness is combined with other risk factors such as
substance abuse, it does increase the risk of violence, Elbogen found. Mental
illness "makes a difference but only in the presence of other risk
factors," he says. Besides substance abuse, Elbogen looked at such other
factors such as a history of violence, age, gender, and stressors such as
losing a job or getting a divorce.

Mental Illness & Violence: The Study

Previous research has produced mixed results about the link between mental
illness and violence, with some finding a clear association and other studies
finding, as did Elbogen's, that alcohol and drug abuse increases the risk in
the presence of a mental illness.

For his study, Elbogen evaluated data on nearly 35,000 people, all
interviewed about their mental health, history of violence, and use of
substances between 2001 and 2003. Participants were part of the National
Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, conducted by the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

At the first interview:

Nearly 11% of participants said they had been diagnosed with mental
illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.